Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Some observations relating to the 15mm SW Voigtländer Super Heliar: - - feet (photographers): I had been warned. There were no feet in any picture. - - knuckels (ditto): I had not been warned. Several pictures showed part of my left index in the right hand corner. This lens has an amazing depth of field. - - filters: It is possible to hand-hold a 60mm filter (the one that screws on to the pre-ASPH 21 mm) in front of the 15 mm and get good results, but you are unlikely to be able to center it properly unless the camera is on a tripod. Martin said this lens was not meant for filters, a statement which has inspired me to construct a cheap filter holder. All ideas welcome. - - water level: Not really needed for an amateur like me. I look through the M6 viewfinder and line up one of the outer frame lines with something I know is absolutely vertical like a building wall. Or I place the horizon in the middle of the small rangefinder window (unless I am at the top if World Trade Center, I guess, but it was a long time ago that I was there). I have a small water level (bought as a replacement part at a DIY shop) that I use when I have the camera on a tripod in a tight corner where it is difficult to use one of the other tricks. Often I want falling lines anyway, or I realize that I really like them when I see the print. - - viewfinder: I think the one that comes with the lens is good enough for me. I lined up a number of spades and other garden tools against a wall, took a couple of pictures and noted how many of the tools could be (a) seen without moving the eye, (b) seen sharp with moving the eye, and (c) seen unsharp with moving the eye. The result was that what I could see without moving the eye would be in the picture with a good safety margin. How large was the margin? All that I could see sharply when moving the eye was not in the picture. Result: I will not worry too much, I will look straight and what I see I am sure I'll get. In doubt I will bracket. - - Voiglander viewfinder-waterlevel combo: This is not for me. I try to avoid accumulating too much gear. It gets in the way of picture taking. There are simpler solutions that meet my requirements. And I do not like the look of the Voigtlander water level. Why on earth did they give it a different surface structure from the smooth surface of the viewfinder. After all the two things sit side by side on that special Voigtlander holder. The water level surface is what they call 'krymplack' in Swedish, it looks like reticulated paint and has an uneaven surface. - - pocketability: with this lens on a M6, the M6 is easier to put in the jacket pocket than with any other lens. Perhaps because I have a sunshade on the other lenses, and there is none for the 15mm. I have to put on the lens cover every time which is a pain in the neck. Taking it off even more - - other: I'll have to get some Locktite so I can fix the lens to the Leica adapter ring in such a position that the dot (against which you line up the distance set) is at 12 o`clock. My dealer did not have any Voigtlander adapters I'll tell you about sharpness and micro contrast some other time.... Chris - -- Christer Almqvist D-20255 Hamburg, Germany and/or F-50590 Regnéville-sur-Mer, France